


The Right Question

by fangirl_squee



Series: homies help homies, always [32]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-02
Updated: 2013-06-02
Packaged: 2017-12-13 16:54:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/826607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_squee/pseuds/fangirl_squee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grantaire's sister Claire comes to stay with Grantaire and Marius for a few days, which serves as a reminder that Grantaire still isn't very good at talking about his family (unless you're Marius).</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Right Question

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, w o w, you guys have all been so wonderful to me about this fic. Thank you so much to everyone who has commented, left kudos, or sent me a message, you are all so lovely.

Marius carries Cosette’s books as they walk to lunch. It does seem a bit silly, very 1950s high school of him, but Cosette has a tendency to max out her borrowing limit at the library when she’s got an assignment due (she prefers working from the comfort of her bed to the library). There’s no way she could fit them all in her bag, and he’s used to slight teasing from their friends. Grantaire just grins at him, tilting his head a little in the same was as he does when Marius reads out the tiny human interest stories from the newspaper – like he’s sharing in something with Marius.

 

“Marius Pontmercy!”

 

He and Cosette both stop, and he peers around the stack of books in his arms. It’s Claire, heading towards them. She’s dressed in business attire, dragging a little wheeled suitcase behind her.

 

Marius lowers the book pile a little so that he can look at her. “Claire, hello! I thought you weren’t finishing until later?”

 

Claire had phoned Grantaire earlier in the week, asking to stay at their place for a few days while she attends a conference. Grantaire had been a little hesitant, glancing at Marius while he considered, so Marius had just taken the phone from him and told her _of course it’s okay, you let us stay with you during the holidays_. After all, it was only fair, and he knew Grantaire didn’t get to see his sister as much as he wanted to.

 

“Besides,” he’d added, “you still have to sign Grantaire’s cast. We’ve been keeping the space clear for you.”

 

Claire and Grantaire had both laughed at that. It was easiest to see their family resemblance when they were happy, with matching grins and a similar tone to their laughter.

 

Claire tired smile reminds him a little of Grantaire’s as well. “ _Technically_ the opening speeches are still going, but I think if I had to sit through another overly-earnest law graduate tell me about how his dream is to help the poor through the power of this conference I would have gone up on stage and stuffed their speech notes down their throats. No offence.”

 

“None taken,” says Marius. He shifts the weight of the books a little so they’re resting on his hip. “Claire, this is my girlfriend Cosette. Cosette, this is Grantaire’s sister Claire.”

 

“It’s wonderful to meet you Cosette, I heard so much about you while the boys were down and all of it was lovely,” says Claire.

 

Cosette smiles. “Well, Grantaire and Marius have nothing but good things to say about you as well. They’re very positive people.”

 

Claire’s smile widens a little. “I think that may be Marius’ influence, my brother normally tends towards the negative. Speaking of which, where is Grantaire at the moment? I thought since I got out early I could do the sisterly thing and make sure he’s eating a proper lunch.”

 

“He’s in the café,” says Marius, “we were just heading there actually. Although I suppose you probably don’t need us to show you the way?”

 

Claire laughs. “Good map memory’s a family trait.” She turns to Cosette. “I used to drag Grantaire here all the time to do our assignments, back when we were in high school.”

 

They spot Grantaire almost immediately. He’s sitting across from Enjolras, and it looks as though they’re arguing about something or other, Enjolras tapping a finger at a passage in his text book while Grantaire’s hands gesture wildly. It’s not a serious argument though, there’s something relaxed in their postures, and Grantaire’s grin doesn’t have the mocking edge it sometimes does during Les Amis meetings.

 

Grantaire stands a little when he sees them, raising his eyebrows at Claire. “I thought you weren’t done until later?”

 

Claire rests her suitcase against the table. “Wow, it’s great to see you too.”

 

Grantaire laughs, pulling her in for a quick hug. “This is Enjolras. Enjolras, this is my sister Claire.”

 

Claire gives Enjolras a calculating look. She’s heard about their fight of course. Grantaire wouldn’t answer his phone at first, so Marius had sent her a quick text with the basic facts. When she’d finally managed to get a hold of Grantaire, the two of them had talked for hours, and Grantaire had looked calmer afterwards.

 

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” says Claire, tone neutral.

 

“I’m afraid I can’t say the same about you,” says Enjolras. His tone is cool, but he fiddles a little with the pen in his hand.

 

Claire smiles at that. “Excellent, I love being a woman of mystery. In keeping with that theme, I’m here to steal Grantaire away for the afternoon.” She turns a little to face Grantaire. “Unless you have class?”

 

“Nope, totally free,” says Grantaire. He gives Enjolras an apologetic look as he shoves a few things in his bag. “I’ll call you later?”

 

Enjolras nods. “I’ll be up for a while, working on this essay.”

 

“Come on, you can show me that bar you were telling me about, and I can tell you about the insufferable idealists I had to deal with today,” says Claire.

 

Grantaire grins at her. “It sounds like it’s a good thing we’ll be in a bar.”

 

Claire laughs, and the two head out. Marius puts the books down on the table and takes his place next to Cosette.

 

Enjolras frowns, still looking towards the doors. “I didn’t realise Grantaire and his sister were so close.”

 

“Why wouldn’t they be?” asks Marius.

 

“I just thought, with his parents … well, I didn’t think he was close to any of his family,” says Enjolras.

 

“He’s only really close to his sister,” says Marius, “I mean, she’s the only one who’ll still talk to him.” He’s staring at the menu, trying to decide between soup of the day (minestrone, which he’s had before and knows isn’t terrible) or the pasta special (lasagne, which is slightly cheaper and therefore possibly terrible), so Marius doesn’t notice that Enjolras is staring at him until Cosette puts her hand over his on the table top. “What?”

 

“How do you even _know_ that?” says Enjolras

 

Marius frowns. “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean he never talks to me about his family, and as far as I can tell he doesn’t talk to anyone else about them either. So how do _you_ know?” says Enjolras. He’s tapping his pen against the open textbook, a sign of frustration.

 

Marius considers his reply for a moment. “I asked him.”

 

The tapping stops. “You asked him,” says Enjolras.

 

Marius turns his gaze back to the menu board (soup, definitely). “Well, yeah. If you ask Grantaire a question straight-out, he usually gives you a straight-out answer.”

 

Sometimes Marius thinks he doesn’t understand Enjolras at all, and from the look Enjolras is giving him right now he’d say that the feeling mutual.

 

 “Since when?” says Enjolras.

 

“Since always?” says Marius. “I’m going to get the soup, what do you want Cosette?” He and Cosette take it in turns to pay for lunch, when they eat together on campus.

 

“Soup sounds lovely Marius, thank you,” says Cosette.

 

Marius can see Cosette and Enjolras talking to each other, voices low, as waits in line at the counter.

He knows he wasn’t being exactly helpful to Enjolras about this, but hopefully it will spur Enjolras to actually ask Grantaire instead of just dropping hints. Although to be fair, the main reason Marius asked about Grantaire’s family outright was that he preferred asking things outright anyway. Ambiguity had never been something he was good at, but Grantaire had never seemed to mind.

 

Enjolras has calmed down a little when Marius gets back, although he and Cosette only stay long enough to finish their lunch. He drives Cosette home so she won’t have to take the bus weighed down with all her books.

 

“You do realise,” she says, once they’re in the car together, “that I probably know more about Grantaire’s sister than Enjolras does?”

 

Marius shrugs a little. “You did ask Grantaire about her, when we came back from seeing her a few months ago.”

 

“It’s just a little strange, don’t you think?,” says Cosette, “For him to be so open with some people but not with Enjolras?”

 

Marius keeps his eyes on the road as they move through traffic. “Grantaire is only like that if you ask him the right way. I mean, it’s not exactly a happy subject, and Enjolras reacted to his parents pretty much the way Grantaire thought he would –“

 

“That was just because it was a surprise!” interrupts Cosette.

 

“It’s still pretty much what Grantaire was afraid of,” says Marius. They’re both quiet for a few moments. “It’s not because he doesn’t trust you guys.”

 

Cosette sighs. “That’s what it feels like.”

 

Marius flicks his eyes toward her for a moment, and she’s frowning over at him. “His family isn’t part of his life, not like your families are. When you don’t have any contact with someone like that, sometimes it’s easier to pretend they were never part of your life at all.”

 

“Marius, pull over,” says Cosette. He opens his mouth to question it, but Cosette gets there first, “Just do it, Pontmercy.”

 

He finds a park pretty quickly for that time of day, down a side street. She catches his hand in hers as soon as it’s off the parking break.

 

“You know you can always talk to me about your family, right?” says Cosette, voice serious.

 

“I know,” says Marius, “wait, was there something you wanted to know about them? Because you can ask me anything you want, really, I mean –“

 

“Marius, no, it’s okay,” says Cosette, “I just meant, well, if you ever _wanted_ to talk about them, you can always talk to me. You don’t have to wait for me to ask the right question.”

 

_Oh_ , he thinks. This is one of those moments where he feels as though he’s falling in love with Cosette all over again.

 

“I know,” says Marius, and when he smiles at her she smiles back, squeezing his hand a little, “thank you.” He looks away for a moment, feeling a little nervous, before he adds, “I don’t really think of them as my family any more though? I think of you as my family. I mean,” and he can feel his face go hot, “all of Les Amis.”

 

Cosette leans forward, pulling him in so that their foreheads are touching. “I think of you as my family too,” she says, and kisses him, lightly and then again, harder.

 

It takes them a while to get back on the road. When they reach her apartment, he helps her carry her books to her room.

 

“Stay for a while?” says Cosette.

 

Marius smiles. “Of course.”

 

She spreads her books over her bed, lying in the middle, surrounded by papers and textbooks. Marius sits on the floor, resting his back against the bed. Cosette lays her hand on his shoulder, a reassuring warm weight, as he reads.

**Author's Note:**

> feedback is always loved and appreciated: fangirl-squee.tumblr.com/ask


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